National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Flight












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National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Flight Center MISSION READINESS REVIEW THEMIS Cynthia M. O’Carroll GSFC Public Affairs Office
Public Affairs Office (PAO) Responsibilities • Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) - leads, plans and coordinates public affairs and outreach activities with NASA Headquarters and our partner organizations; prepares and distributes all media materials, including news releases, the mission press kit, the mission Web site and other mission specific products; organizes press briefings; coordinates Guest Operations. • Mission Partners - lead: Space Sciences Laboratory at the University of California at Berkeley (UCB); International space agencies from Germany, Canada, France and Austria; and NASA JPL. • Kennedy Space Center (KSC) - lead for photo/video documentation of spacecraft processing and launch vehicle buildup; coordinates the spacecraft press opportunity at Astrotech; coordinates the L-30/L-1 Press Briefing to be held at the KSC Press Site; arranges NASA TV support and live coverage of the briefings and the launch; and provides launch commentary. • Swales Aerospace - built spacecraft bus and probe carrier; participates in PAO activities and supports Guest Ops. • United Launch Alliance (ULA) - provides Delta II Launch Vehicle; participates in PAO activities and supports Guest Ops. 2
PAO Responsibilities • Press Kit – THEMIS Fact Sheet – THEMIS Lithograph – Literature on the instruments, the spacecraft bus, the probe carrier and the LV – Other mission related products and images – Press Kit will be available on the NASA Web site and in hardcopy 3
PAO Responsibilities • News Releases: – Spacecraft Arrival - NASA HQ, KSC, GSFC, and UCB issued release on 12/11 – Weekly Status Reports - KSC; THEMIS and Delta II processing – General News Release - NASA HQ and UCB; general info about the THEMIS mission before the L-30 Press Briefing – Note-to-Editors - NASA HQ, KSC and GSFC; logistics for the Press Opportunity and the L-30 Press Briefing – Note-to-Editors: Pre-launch/Mission Science Briefing Release - KSC; logistics and info about NASA TV coverage for the L-1 Press Briefing – Post-launch Status Reports - GSFC and UCB; issue a status report after the successful launch – Science Results News Releases - NASA HQ, GSFC and UCB; coordinate the timing and content of science results news releases with partners as necessary 4
PAO Responsibilities • NASA Television and Web Coverage: – THEMIS Promo - brief animated video of THEMIS launch and deployment with music. – Pre-launch Support - KSC will arrange TV support and coverage of the L-30 and the L-1 Press Briefings at the KSC Press Site to be carried live on NASA TV. – Launch Coverage - KSC will arrange live launch day coverage as well as the launch commentary. The launch will also be available on the NASA Web site. – Video File - GSFC TV will produce a video file that will be broadcast live on NASA TV for the L-30 and the L-1 Press Briefings and on the day of the launch. The video file will include B-roll of spacecraft at Swales, UCB, JPL and KSC. It will also contain science and spacecraft animation and interviews. – THEMIS Web Sites http: //www. nasa. gov/themis http: //sprg. ssl. berkeley. edu/themis http: //ds 9. ssl. berkeley. edu/themis/flash. html http: //www. swales. com/company/themis_contract. html 5
PAO Responsibilities • L-30 Press Briefing: – Will be held on 1/11 at the KSC Press Site; will air on NASA TV with THEMIS video file. – Participants: • Moderator: George Diller, NASA KSC PAO • Craig Pollock, NASA HQ THEMIS Program Manager • Frank Snow, NASA GSFC THEMIS Mission Manager • Vassilis Angelopoulos, UCB THEMIS Principal Investigator • Peter Harvey, UCB THEMIS Project Manager 6
PAO Responsibilities • L-1 Briefings: – Will be held on L-1 after the Launch Readiness Review at the KSC Press Site; will air on NASA TV with THEMIS video file. – Pre-launch Briefing: • Moderator: George Diller, NASA KSC PAO • Richard R. Fisher, NASA HQ Director of Heliophysics Division • Frank Snow, NASA GSFC THEMIS Mission Manager • Peter Harvey, UCB THEMIS Project Manager • Chuck Dovale, NASA KSC Launch Director • ULA, Director of NASA Programs • U. S Air Force Delta II Launch Weather Officer, 45 th Weather Squadron – Mission Science Briefing: • Moderator: George Diller, NASA KSC PAO • Craig Pollock, NASA HQ THEMIS Program Manager • David Sibeck, NASA THEMIS Project Scientist • Vassilis Angelopoulos, UCB THEMIS Principal Investigator 7
PAO Responsibilities • Outreach Activities: Completed: – November 2006: Media Training was provided to the PM, the PI and the PS as the primary spokespersons for the mission. – September 2006 Space. Link for Educators at the Maryland Science Center: GSFC’s Dr. Sten Odenwald, a THEMIS E/PO Formal Education Partner, discussed THEMIS Mission and how it relates to the Aurora Borealis, or Northern lights. activities for teachers and tips on how to share them with students. Planned: – March/April 2007: Dave Sibeck to present THEMIS to GSFC employees at “About Goddard” seminar – Develop a feature presentation with SVS on Heliophysics for “Science on a Sphere” – Space Chats at the GSFC Visitor Center – GSFC View, Dateline, Intranet, poster boards – Partner with public libraries for a Heliophysics speaker and special display of related materials – Events/presentations at Maryland Science Center, Howard B. Owens Science Center and other venues – Info at community events 8
PAO Responsibilities • Education – NASA GSFC: • July 2006 - NASA Explorer Schools Orientation Workshop and Distance Learning Network Workshop with presentations of Heliophysics science and solar classroom activities • September/October 2006 - Heliophysics Teacher Workshop for Stereo, THEMIS and AIM: science and classroom application activities using 3 new guides: “Exploring Magnetism”, “Exploring Magnetism in the Solar Wind” and “Exploring Magnetism in Solar Flares” • Sun-Earth Day 2007/IHY - GSFC Visitor Center for local schools; theme is “Living in the Atmosphere of the Sun” 9
PAO Responsibilities – UCB: • Geomagnetic Event Observation Network by Students (GEONS) in which 10 magnetometers are placed in (or associated with) 13 schools across the country; receive data from the mission; teaches about Earth’s magnetic field and its changes that are related to auroral substorm activity • Professional development for teachers, with a focus on the Tribal Colleges • Planning to launch of a new Lawrence Hall of Science Great Explorations in Math and Science (GEMS) site in Nevada • Creation and dissemination of a Space Telescope Science Institute View. Space show on auroras and THEMIS • The THEMIS E/PO partnerships, methods, activities, and visibility are monitored and evaluated by Cornerstone Evaluation Associates (CEA); yearly formative evaluation reports are receieved and action taken as necessary • Publications: “Exploring Magnetism, ” “Exploring Magnetism on Earth, ” “The Northern Lights” • Development and maintenance of a THEMIS E/PO Web site. 10
PAO Responsibilities • Post-Launch Events and Services: – Contingency Press Briefing - If a launch contingency should occur, a briefing will be targeted for 2 hours after the contingency or as soon as significant information is available. Representatives from NASA, UCB, Swales and ULA will attend. – Goddard Code-A-Phone and Web Page - Information regarding the THEMIS launch will be placed on the GSFC Web page and on the GSFC Code-A-Phone. KSC will also update their Code-A-Phone beginning on L-3. 11
Guest Operations • Guest Operations: – NASA HQ in collaboration with GSFC, KSC, UCB, Swales and ULA – Invitations mailed 4 -6 weeks prior to launch – Guests are encouraged to visit the Guest Operations Web site to RSVP and learn about updates to the schedule: http: //guestops. hq. nasa. gov – Guest Operations typically include: • Guest Check-in at the KSC Visitor Complex, beginning at L-1 • Guest Briefing held on L-1 • Transportation from Visitor Complex to launch viewing site • Guests monitor launch schedule via NASA toll-free phone hotline • Reception driven by contractor partners 12